


Fragile Peace

by diamondforger



Series: Whumptober 2020 [13]
Category: Kamen Rider Saber
Genre: Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26941279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diamondforger/pseuds/diamondforger
Summary: At least Kento looks peaceful when he sleeps.
Relationships: Fukamiya Kento & Kamiyama Touma
Series: Whumptober 2020 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945867
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Fragile Peace

**Author's Note:**

> No 13. Alt Prompt  
> Nightmares

"Alright! I'm done!" Touma threw down his pen and jumped to his feet. "Time to go get... dinner," he trailed off as he took a look around the room. It was dark, but that made no sense. The last time he'd checked the time, it'd been mid afternoon. 

A quick look at the clock told him it was nearly 10 pm. No wonder his hand hurt so much, he'd been writing for hours. At least he was finished, and a whole TWO days before his deadline. Mei would surely be happy about that. 

But why hadn't Kento interrupted him? They'd been planning out going out for food together as soon as Touma wrapped up his writing session. Had Kento really waited that long without saying anything? Touma looked around the room again, squinting at the darkness seemed impossible to miss now that he wasn't actively writing. 

Kento was tucked into one of the hammocks, legs crossed like when he was riding his carpet, head slumped forward. Touma could help but smile as he listened to the soft snoring sound coming from his old friend. 

It was a strange sleeping position, but at least he looked peaceful, Touma thought as he squatted down in front of the sleeping man. He looked up at Kento's face, taking a brief moment to study it. His memories of childhood were fuzzy and sometimes it felt strange to compare Kento to the bright boy that'd he'd been close to years ago. Ever since they'd reunited, Kento always seemed distant, hovering on the edge of a dark mood. The occasional moments of joy where he'd relax and light up the room with his smile seemed far too rare. And those rare moments were so fragile. 

At least Kento looked relaxed right now. Touma was tempted to just leave him to his sleep. He had promised he'd buy dinner though. Not much would be open at this point, but he figured he owed Kento. Especially since the man had waited so long for him. 

He reached out, brushing the bangs away from Kento's face. "Hey, it's time for dinner," he whispered.

Kento twitched, but didn't wake as Touma's hand wandered farther back, tucking a bit of hair behind Kento's ear. 

"Kento, wake up," Touma's hand moved to Kento's shoulder shaking him lightly. 

Kento twitched again, his peaceful expression suddenly darkening. He jerked away from Touma, hands coming up to his head. The hammock swung wildly as his knees came up to his chest. 

"What are you doing?" Kento mumbled. His eyes were still closed, he had to still be asleep. 

"Kento, it's me, Touma, wake up." Touma reached out tentatively, if only to stop the swinging of the hammock. He didn't want Kento to accidentally hurt himself. 

"No!" Kento kicked him square in the chest, "Leave me alone!"

Touma reeled back into his model as Kento curled back into a ball, shaking badly. 

"Why?" Kento sobbed. "Why? I don't understand."

Touma inched around Kento. His chest ached from the first attack and he didn't want to risk another kick. If he just get to Kento from behind, he should be able to grab the man before he tumbled out of the hammock. 

Once he was behind Kento, Touma wrapped his arms around the man, pinning his arms to his side. "It's okay, Kento. It's just me. Just wake up," he whispered into Kento's hair. 

The shaking stopped suddenly. Kento was now stiff and completely still in Touma's arms. An improvement from the fighting, but Touma could tell something was still wrong. 

"You were having a nightmare," he said, releasing Kento, "Sorry, but I had to wake you up. I was scared."

Kento climbed out of the hammock stiffly. He didn't look back at Touma, or say anything in response. 

Touma stepped around Kento slowly, watching for any reaction. Kento was unmoving. He stared into the distance with dead eyes, taking shallow stuttering breaths. 

"It's dinner time," Touma said softly, "It's actually way past dinner time, but you should really eat."

Kento shook his head. His shoulders hunched over as he turned towards Touma. "I should go." Every word sounded like a painful endeavor. Kento was looking in Touma's general direction, but he barely seemed to see what was in front of him. 

"I can help," Touma took a step forward only for Kento to flinch back, raising his arms like he was prepared for a strike. Touma moved back, shrinking down to seem less intimidating. He wondered who'd taught Kento to react like that. Surely it wasn't anyone from Logos. 

"No." Kento smiled. It was nothing like the bright smile that Touma had been able to pull from him earlier in the day when he'd been recounting one of his favorite stories. The smile didn't reach his eyes, which were still blank and unfocused. "It's fine. Not hungry. Just going to sleep."

"Kento." Touma didn't want him to leave. Kento looked lost, Touma was scared that he wouldn't be able to find his way home. He couldn't just let Kento go when he was vulnerable like this, right? But he couldn't force the man to stay. Touma just had to figure out something to break through the fog in Kento's eyes. 

"Is this one of the things I should remember?" Touma asked gently. 

The question had more impact than his previous attempts. Kento frowned, thinking for far longer than comfortable. 

"No," he said after a pause that was far too long for Touma to believe him, "It's nothing. It was just a bad dream, Touma. Everyone has them some times."

It wasn't just a dream. Or it wasn't just that specific dream. Touma had seen that exact thousand yard stare far too many times since Kento and glided back into his life on his magic carpet. It was hard to know what would cause it. He'd picked up a couple of triggers quickly and learned to avoid them, but Kento wasn't helping. Whenever Touma tried ask, Kento would only put up more walls and shut him out. 

"Could you at least tell me what the dream was?"

Kento's eyes widened. He took a step back, carpet appearing under him and lifting him off the ground. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Wait, no. I'm sorry, I'll drop it, just stay for dinner," Touma tried to backtrack, but he could tell he'd lost this one. Just like he'd lost every other time. 

Kento was backing away, bowing his head politely as he slid back through the Book Gate. Touma bit back a curse as he settled down at his desk again. He knew he'd need to come prepared next time. Maybe he'd have better luck getting information out of the others.

It hadn't worked before, but Touma was determined to keep trying. 


End file.
